


Proximity

by bensaidbutido



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Ben and Rey share a brain cell, Ben's got it bad for Rey, CORONAVIRUS FAKE DATING AU, F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Or were they just too drunk?, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Rey's got it bad for Ben, Reylo - Freeform, Wash Your Hands, Were they really pretending?, Will they remember what happened?, social distancing?, there's something in the air..., yes you heard that right
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-18
Updated: 2020-04-10
Packaged: 2021-02-28 19:39:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,812
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23202604
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bensaidbutido/pseuds/bensaidbutido
Summary: They're both drunk and happily oblivious to the world around them, yet oddly cognizant ofeach other. This is stupid—theyare stupid, but they both don’t mind the absurdity. The world is absurd. Rey is living in a time where she can genuinely thank avirus outbreakfor being the reason she's getting a free ride home.She's not complaining about Ben being next to her either.
Relationships: Kylo Ren/Rey, Rey/Ben Solo
Comments: 18
Kudos: 49





	1. Did this just happen?

**Author's Note:**

> HELLO! I'm so excited to be writing this fic because it's a CORONAVIRUS QUARANTINE PARTY!!!! Get your toilet paper, grab some hand sanitizer, and get ready for this absolute train wreck :)

Rey is met with the odd chill of Friday night as she stumbles out of Maz’s bar, clutching her bag to her chest and unable to fathom her choices. Finn and Poe follow with arms around each other, Poe’s laugh echoing in the open space. The sound of shoes scratching against the concrete fills up Rey’s fuzzy mind. A neon sign at the front of the bar gives a red glow to her vision. Rey snaps her fingers with the anticipation of going home.

“Who’s requesting an Uber?” Rey asks a little too loudly, her tone playful, and she throws her head back to find Poe and Finn talking about—

“The coronavirus isn’t even that bad, Finn,” Poe manages to say between laughs. “You’re not gonna die. It’s only bad if you’re, like, older or you have a health problem.”

Finn has his hands on his hips in concern, watching his boyfriend downplay a worldwide virus outbreak. “But I would _spread it around_ if I got it. I’m surprised Maz’s was even open tonight. I almost backed out of going.”

Rey is too drunk—well drunk _enough—_ to even understand what's coming out of her friends’ mouths. Corona _who?_ The beer? They're all dizzy with alcohol buzzing in their systems, and to drink more is a bad idea at this point. Rey huffs in annoyance. She just wants to get in bed—maybe finish that one show on Netflix she’s been putting off.

She repeats her question.

This time around it catches Poe’s attention, and he fishes his phone out of his pocket, the sound of tapping thumbs puncturing the air. Minutes go by as Rey and Finn stare at him—confused—because why is it taking so long? Rey figures Poe’s attention span shrinks to that of a fly’s once he's drunk, so he's probably scrolling through Instagram instead of—

“Fuck.”

Poe looks up from his phone.

_Who knew that the coronavirus outbreak wouldn’t allow three friends get in the same car together?_

Rey has to laugh.

“Are you sure it says they only allow one person per ride?” Finn asks, moving his head to catch a better view of the phone screen in Poe’s hands.

“Yeah, yeah...” Poe murmurs, still reading the small print. “Oh, it says here that they’ll make exceptions for couples, which means...”

An awkward silence falls upon the group, and then—

“You guys go.”

“ _No,_ Rey, we can just say we’re together. Poe can just—“

“Finn can go on his own, it’s fine—“

Cars zip by, their lights flashing in and out as the three friends talk over one another in a drunken debate. _Who gets to be the couple, who gets to go alone, who gets to—_ Rey can’t comprehend a single word except for the truth that rings in her mind like a phone call she can’t ignore.

_Being alone is something she's used to._

“You guys, seriously, I’m fine going alone.” Rey tries to keep herself from slurring her words too much. “You two should go home together like you planned. You have a legitimate reason—you’re an _actual_ couple.”

 _And I’m alone_...

Finn’s eyes grow soft, almost as if he read her thoughts. “Rey—“

“No. I’ve made up my mind,” she interrupts. “It’s not going to change.”

Rey would do anything for her friends, even it means she has to take an Uber alone one night. It’s not a big deal—at least she wants it to _seem_ that way. Poe, who's exhausted from their conversation, goes along with Rey’s decision and gets an Uber for him and Finn. “You have money on you?”

“Yeah,” Rey answers. “I’ll let you guys know when I get home, so don’t worry.”

“Make sure it’s the right car, Rey,” Finn practically begs. Yeah, he's drunk. “You’ve heard about those cases—“

“I’ll make sure. It’ll be fine.” Rey always has to reassure Finn more when it comes to her safety. They've known each other for years. He's like a brother to her, so it explains the upset look on his face as he clearly struggles with where this night is going. Still, he knows how to calm himself down, and he does just that as Rey shoots him a small smile.

After about ten minutes, Finn and Poe leave, hugging Rey as if they're going on vacation and won’t see her for weeks—although that vacation would turn out to be _social distancing._

What a beautiful start to a new decade.

Rey stands alone in silence as she watches the car containing her friends drive until it resembles a tiny dot. A speck. She's still feeling dizzy as a horrible realization dawns on her.

Rey _doesn’t_ have money. Not a penny to her name. She spent it all on the alcohol that's currently making her chuckle in defeat at this very terrible problem.

 _I could call Finn,_ she thinks.

No. She won’t bother him like that. She told him and Poe she’d be fine and not to worry. She’d like to keep it that way.

Next option: she could walk home. Rey doesn’t live that far, and sure, maybe she'll get kidnapped on the way, but she's drunk and her judgement is hazy. Bubbly. Her brain is made of feathers. Being mature doesn’t apply.

From behind her, the door to Maz’s opens again, and footsteps land on the concrete, a string of curses being thrown into the dead of night.

“I’ll say it one more time, Hux,” the man slightly slurs. “If you so much as even take _one step_ in my direction tomorrow, Snoke will know what you did last weekend. I’m tired of hiding your shit.”

Well _that_ is a deep voice.

The blatant anger in the man’s tone is enough to turn Rey’s head, her eyes widening in surprise when she has to angle her view upward because—

“ _Big man._ ” She couldn’t keep the words inside her head.

He's big. Tall. Strong. He wears a black sweater— _is there a hole in it?_ —with black jeans, black shoes...

 _It must be his favorite color,_ Rey thinks, and if not, it's the only color he knows about. Even his hair falls in long waves around his face, as black as the night surrounding them both. His mouth is set in a firm, discontent line, but his lips are full, and Rey—

Rey is drunk with no money. This man seems a bit drunk as well, and maybe he isn’t broke—

 _No._ She doesn’t even know this is. She won’t ask some random— _attractive—_ guy to be her fake boyfriend so she can get an Uber ride home. She won’t do it. Maybe if she tells herself that enough times, she’d believe it...

She’d believe it if she was _sober_ right now, but...

“Just do your job,” the man orders, finally hanging up his phone and looking out ahead of him, his eyes scanning his surroundings until they land on Rey herself.

She freezes as they make eye contact. _Dark eyes,_ she notes. His mouth parts slightly at the sight of her, and something blooms in Rey’s chest. The way he looks at her... like he’s seen her before. Rey shakes the thought away—ridiculous. She doesn't know him. Rey ponders the idea of truly asking a stranger to be her fake boyfriend for the sake of an Uber ride. It would be easier if said stranger wasn’t exuding mysterious beauty right in front of her.

They could both be infected with the coronavirus and not know it, so... It doesn’t really matter, right?

“There’s a hole in your sweater.”

The man gives her a quizzical look. “Do I know you?”

“No, but there’s a hole in your sweater.” Rey can’t stop staring at him, and it's weird, being so drawn to someone she only just met. She wants to believe it's only because of how much she needs to get home. “I’m Rey.”

“Ben,” the man— _Ben—_ responds, simultaneously looking down and grasping the fabric of his sweater. His eyes widen slightly as he notices the hole, clearly unaware it was there until now.

Awkward silence is sure to follow, and Rey is set on never letting that happen, the alcohol in her body providing a sudden adrenaline rush. “So, um, this is gonna sound weird—or _funny—_ I don’t know,” she rushes, her energy sparking. “There’s this new rule with Uber because of the coronavirus. Only one person can get a ride, but there’s an exception for couples. I told my friends to go without me—they’re a couple so it made sense, and I...” she almost loses her train of thought before continuing. “I thought I had money to pay for myself, but I don’t, and I’m not sober. If by chance you’re also getting an Uber...”

Ben looks like he was hit with coronavirus itself—completely shocked and unprepared. Rey fears she broke him or even _angered_ him. In her defense, he was definitely livid on the phone earlier. She doesn’t know who she's dealing with and—

“You want me to... pay for your Uber?” Ben finally speaks up.

“Were you planning on getting one for yourself?” Rey starts to stutter now, nerves getting the best of her. “B-Because that way I would j-just... you know...”

Ben shifts his weight on his feet, an unreadable expression on his face. His eyes still hold hers intensely and there's a slight movement in his jaw. He's thinking, but of what? Is he suddenly just as nervous as her? Does he feel it, too?

Rey wants to know.

“Yeah, I was,” he responds. “I was planning on getting one. I drank. I mean, I guess you can—you said _couples?_ ”

Rey nods. “Y-yeah, it’s not a big deal. We just have to be convincing enough to the driver. It shouldn’t be difficult... again, only if you’re okay with that. I know we literally just met minutes ago, so you know nothing about me.”

It's not like Rey expects this man to just agree on the spot. In fact, she guesses he'll turn her down, and she’ll be alone once again—

“But I _do,_ ” Ben says softly, his voice taking on a gentle tone. “I _do_ know you, Rey.”

The air feels thick, and Ben’s gaze focuses on her as if she's the most interesting thing in the world to him.

“ _What?_ ” Rey senses chills running down her spine— _from the alcohol, of course_. “No, you don’t.”

Her voice nearly cracks.

A smirk makes its way onto Ben’s face, and then he smiles, a chuckle leaving his lips. The tension dissipates. “I know. I’m just practicing since I have to be your boyfriend now.”

“Oh,” Rey laughs nervously. This man is doing things to her she doesn’t want to admit, and the word _boyfriend_ leaving his lips... her _name..._ in that deep voice...

Too much. It's all too much and Rey is drunk.

She notices more now that Ben definitely is drunk, too. Maybe not as much as her, but enough to let that lopsided smile of his linger—enough to notice his eyes falling to her lips, and then quickly finding her own eyes again. _When did they get closer to each other?_ He's towering over her. Rey could see now that beauty marks dot Ben’s pale face, and his eyes are actually brown with some traces of... green? They're dark and complex. Sharp and inviting. His nose is long, and there's something so handsome about him that makes Rey want to forget about the idea of a fake relationship entirely.

Rey wants to forget about a lot of things right now.

Ben requests an Uber, and there's a shift in the atmosphere, like a strange connection is being created between them. Suddenly Rey is prepared to take this fake relationship head-on, but Ben beats her to it. He has a similar idea, so he slides his left hand in her right one and—

_Yeah._

Rey tries her hardest to hide her surprise as she notices the insane difference in size—his hand is _massive,_ practically engulfing her own. Ben’s focus moves away from his phone and dark eyes connect with hers momentarily.

“Is this okay?” His voice takes on that gentle tone again, but there's something else. Something _alluring._ “I thought we should at least seem comfortable... like we’ve held hands before.”

Rey doesn’t need to drink again to feel dizzy. _Oh, trust me, I’m comfortable,_ she wants to say. The warmth of Ben’s hand in hers, his velvety voice—it stokes a fire inside of her. It's driving her into a place of no return, and sadly it's showing. There's no way of hiding it. She can feel her heartbeat quicken and licks her lips without thinking.

Maybe it _shouldn’t_ be okay for him to hold her hand... for health-related reasons. Did Ben wash his hands? In this climate?

Does Rey care? No.

“Yeah, it’s fine,” Rey answers, her voice suddenly sounding so _small._ Her fingers shakily intertwine with his. She thinks she hears a sudden intake of breath from the man beside her.

They're both drunk and happily oblivious to the world around them, yet oddly cognizant of _each other_. This is stupid— _they_ 're stupid, but they both don’t mind the absurdity. The world is absurd. Rey's living in a time where she can genuinely thank a _virus outbreak_ for being the reason she's about to get a free ride home, and she's not complaining about Ben being next to her either.

If toilet paper rolls are flying off the shelves like they're the latest iPhone models, a fake relationship can be allowed.

And besides, Rey might never see him again after tonight, and that alone brings her out of her nerves as their ride pulls up. Rey looks over at Ben, and surprisingly he seems... amused. His eyes hold a glint of mischief as if this is a pretty good plot twist to his Friday night. She catches his gaze.

“Ready, _babe?_ ” She asks, smiling fully, a teasing tone laced in her voice.

For a moment—a _deliciously_ short moment—Ben’s eyes seem to darken, affected by her words, and Rey waits for his response.

He only squeezes her hand and leads her to the car.

🧻 🧻 🧻

Ben is drunk and dying inside.

How he ended up here, he’ll never know, but there's a lot of craziness happening recently, and so this just might not even surprise him.

She— _Rey—_ had been a burst of sunshine in the darkness of his life. It's a strong statement but, it's true. Not even knowing her long enough, somehow her effortless sweetness and radiance seeped into the cracks of his mask and scars. It could’ve patched up the hole in his damn sweater. Her chestnut hair fell loose, framing her bright face, and she wore a white shirt with sleeves hanging off of her shoulders. High-waisted jeans only enhanced her already-long legs.

The word beautiful _clearly_ doesn't do her justice.

Ben knew just from landing his eyes on her for the first time that his attraction to her spelled disaster in the best way.

He wants his composure to fall to _ruins_.

Holding this woman’s hand might be the death of him, and that _smile—_

He needs to calm down, but it seems impossible as him and Rey hop into the backseat of the car. Rey takes control, her hazel eyes lit with sudden—passion? She's laughing.

“God, I had _so much fun_ tonight, Ben. We really needed to forget about everything for a while.” 

Before Ben can respond, Rey’s lips are on his own, her hand on his cheek. Kissing him.

She's _kissing_ him.

His mind spins and melts at the same time, and suddenly he relaxes. Her lips take him by surprise, dulcet and soft with traces of alcohol— _intoxication._ He's aching and starved, and he hadn’t known until now.

Ben kisses back ferociously, almost letting out a deep moan, following her lead and losing himself completely—which is bad considering they're in front of someone in the same vehicle—but he couldn’t care. All he can feel is _Rey,_ tasting him as if there's something _more_ than fake dating going on, deciding it's fine and dandy to tug on his bottom lip with her _teeth_ and—

Ben has to pull away before he impulsively tells the driver to just take them to the nearest hotel.

He licks his lips. His pants are starting to feel tight and panic courses through his body, but he can’t let it show or else it would seem like Rey's kissing a stranger. Instead he turns that panic into hunger because, _God,_ she's looking at him with pupils blown wide.

They're just pretending right?

Ben could play this game.

“That was pretty sudden, don’t you think, _sweetheart?_ ” Ben asks, the endearment rolling off his tongue, his voice husky and adopting the soft tone that he knows affected her back at the bar.

It continues to affect her. Rey instinctively bites her lip and it drives Ben _wild_.

She immediately turns to look out the window, to distract herself with the streetlights and surrounding cars, but Ben has other plans. His hand lands on her thigh, spanning the entire width of it, and his thumb moves in circular motions. Rey stops breathing.

_Fake dating, huh..._

Now she's looking at him, something honest in her eyes.

“I just wanted to kiss you, that’s all,” Rey says simply, then smirks. “Out of... _gratitude._ ”

“And gratitude’s a bad thing?”

“Well, it depends. Maybe I could’ve said it was out of _deep love_ and _longing._ ” Her eyes are blazing, and in that moment, Ben could picture her in another life as an Empress—dressed in _stars,_ a galaxy in her hands—ruling, taking, and _conquering._

She would conquer _him,_ wouldn't she?

His hand is still on her thigh, those circles becoming dizzying even to him, and suddenly Ben feels really bad for the driver.

The lines of fake and real are starting to blur like the edges of his vision.

“Well, we’ll see if that changes once we get to my place.”

Rey doesn’t protest what that implies. It implies that there aren’t two stops being made. Only one.

In fact, Rey _giggles._ It fills Ben up with a rush of excitement he’d never felt before. Her hand covers his, and then she rolls her head back, letting out a laugh. “This is _crazy!_ ” her voice is bubbling with disbelief, and for a moment it seems as though she forgot where she was. “We decided to _fake da—_ “

“ _Fake having the coronavirus,_ I know. What a good prank, baby," Ben quickly finishes, covering up Rey's blunder.

The driver casts the pair a suspicious glance through the rearview mirror.

_What the fuck?_

Rey's jaw drops and her hand covers her opened mouth as she starts to laugh again. Drunk. “Oh, I almost— _pff._ ”

Ben starts to laugh now, too. “Yeah, you and I almost gave everyone at the bar a heart attack. Good thing we were just joking.”

Rey continues to laugh, then tells the driver quite loudly, “Ben is the best, isn’t he? You should be friends with him—can’t date him, though. He is _happily_ taken.”

At this point the driver just wants this all to end.

Then there's silence, but it's welcomed. Rey smiles slightly, and Ben stares at her. He can’t help the baffled grin that spreads across his face as he takes in the sight of her because... how? How did this happen so quickly? Her profile is dimly lit, bright flashes giving glimpses of freckled skin when golden streetlights beam through the windows. She has a sharp, petite nose, unlike his larger one. Her eyelashes flick upward, long and dainty. Her jaw is pronounced, her lips kiss-swollen and distracting. She's airy and ethereal— _straight out of a fairy tale—_ and yet there's a dark side to her.

There's something deeper.

Suddenly the car stops, and the excitement that bounced inside the car simmers down. Although Ben implied Rey would stay with him for the night, they end up deciding against it. Rey has to get home. It's the smart thing to do. The night provided them too much alcohol to handle.

Without giving it a second thought, Ben leans across the space between them and kisses her. Short and sweet.

“I’ll see you tomorrow?”

Rey looks at him, and for the first time there's something that brings her out of her drunken state. Ben sounds so incredibly genuine—so _earnest—_ and he knows it's what catches her off guard. He knows because it catches him off guard, too.

“ _Yes,_ ” she breaths. “Yes, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

And then Ben is out of the car.

It isn’t until he was walking to the front door of his house that Ben realizes he forgot to give Rey some way to keep in touch with him.

He's an idiot.

He could still see her again, right? In the middle of a worldwide virus outbreak where everyone is staying in their homes?

_Fuck._

It's going to be a long wait.


	2. Shouldn't we be distancing ourselves?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Still, even with sarcasm dripping from his lips, she's _drawn_ to him. To his sharp yet warm eyes, to the beauty marks on his face, to the lines of his mouth when he seemed to hold back a smile. She wonders if he felt something, too, back in the car. There was an odd atmosphere in the air, like they were pretending to be dating and yet it wasn't _difficult_ to pretend. Rey doesn't mind being so close to Ben, but does he?
> 
> Does he _not_ feel the electric current running through his body as they stand with their hands joined, acting _once again_ like they've done this for years?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! :) A new chapter featuring Ben and Rey except this time they're not drunk. I wonder how their interactions will change...
> 
> Anyway, thank you so much for the support so far! I'm excited to see where this story goes. Hope you enjoy this chapter! <3

They see each other again—sooner than they both expect. 

Ben would be surprised, but there's a heavier weight in his mind at the moment and he wants nothing more than to lock himself in his house forever... which it seems like he will...

Only now his _parents_ will be with him.

He couldn't fathom why his mother would call him so late. It was around ten o'clock at night, and Ben was just about to get some sleep when his phone blasted, rings bouncing off the once-silent walls of his bedroom. It was so last-minute, talking about how Han "messed something up in the house" and how it "won't be fixed" until the whole coronavirus thing blows over. Ben _knows_ his mom, and he knows that his dad probably knocked over a plate after dinner which was enough for her to decide that she wanted to see her son again. So, she asked Ben—without the option to decline, of course—if they could stay at his house until the quarantine was lifted. 

Ben obviously accepted, and he mostly did just to get the call over with and sleep. When he wakes the next morning— _today_ —he's hit with a headache that screams, _what the fuck did I just do?_

Ben loves his family, he really does, and that's exactly why he's worried about them staying with him during this quarantine. It means months of them living under the same roof as him, and he's not ready. He just started to open up to his parents again. Ben had been distant for so long, not even calling on the holidays. He was so immersed in his old job, in his old way of thinking, that the relationship with his family began to crack. When he did call them, arguments followed. There was no... _peace_. For a long time, it was as if Ben felt disowned, and rightfully so, but he knew his parents would never give up on him—and that made him feel worse. He felt he didn't deserve the love his parents unconditionally gave, even after the loudest of screaming matches. His mom would always end it with, _"we love you, Ben,"_ and his father would always say, _"come home."_ One day, it was too much to hold in, and like an earthquake, Ben was shaken by unexpected guilt. He shattered. Quitting his job, he drove to his parents' house, tears staining his cheeks, knowing he wasted years of his life without them—never knowing if he could truly be forgiven.

But he was. Both his mother and father held out their arms—warm and loving. Forgiving. They said they always knew he'd come back, and Ben still can't comprehend how they had more hope in him than he had in himself.

No, his childhood wasn't perfect. His parents made mistakes, and they were learning. Sometimes what they thought was _best_ for Ben wasn't the best at all. As he got older, Ben realized his parents never had bad intent, and when they messed up, it wasn't because they _wanted_ Ben to feel neglected at times. The issue in the Organa-Solo family was understanding time (and more importantly, communication, but that's another topic). It was always about knowing when enough time was spent, making sure it was never too little...

Or too much.

In this case, Ben is terrified of spending too much time with his family, and he doesn't know how to admit that without sounding like a jerk.

Spending _too_ _much_ time with them brings the possibility of unraveling parts of the past he made sure to bury. Spending too much time could take a turn for the worse. They could argue. Everything Ben had worked to repair, the bridge he slowly rebuilt—it could all crash again. 

The fear alone sends Ben out the door once it's noon, dressed in a black hoodie and black shorts with black running shoes (he can't remember if he owns a piece of clothing that isn't black). He only goes for a run when he needs to clear his mind, but even so, as he's trying to empty his head, the thought of his parents seeps through. He tries to run faster, feeling his need for air skyrocket, feeling the burn in his lungs. The sound of his shoes against the road fills his ears, and he wants it to drown the loudness inside his head—even if it's just for _two seconds._

It doesn't work. He's too agitated.

Ben takes it a step further and plugs headphones in his ears, playing the most chaotic and upbeat song he can think of. He blasts it and yet it just doesn't help. His parents would be here _today,_ and the thought takes up so much space that he doesn't know how else to get rid of it. If only there was someone who could just—

His headphones get _snatched_ out of his ears.

"Do we seriously live in the same neighborhood?"

_That voice sounds familiar._

Ben turns to see— _Freckles_. Bright, hazel eyes.

It's the girl from last week. The girl he was drunk with in the back of an Uber. The girl he couldn't take his eyes off, who he _pretended_ to kiss more than once even though he _gladly_ would admit it didn't take much to act like he _wanted_ to kiss her and—

—And yet he can't register it completely because he's so stressed about his parents, so he narrows his eyes at the woman facing him and annoyingly asks, "don't you think it's _rude_ to yank someone's headphones out like that?"

Rey parts her mouth slightly and furrows her brows in confusion. She's bothered. "I'm sorry, I thought maybe you'd be happier to see me considering—"

"Considering what? That we were drunk and barely knew each other, pretending to be in a relationship so we—no, _you—_ could get a free ride home?"

Ben hates himself the moment he cuts her off. He hates that he takes out his frustration on other people. He hates the look on Rey's face—like she regrets ever meeting him—and he's never wanted to continue his afternoon jog more than anything, so he quickly turns away from her and picks up his pace.

His freedom only lasts a few seconds, though.

Because he's overwhelmed with stress, Ben didn't notice what Rey was wearing (some matching set of dark green leggings and a tank-top, finished with white Nike running shoes), so when she sees him leave, she decides to jog right alongside him.

"You really think you can just ignore me?" She asks between breaths, keeping up her pace with him. 

It's weird. It's weird knowing who she is and interacting with her now that they're sober. When he's drunk, Ben can actually socialize... _somewhat_. When he's sober, he _chooses_ to be the brick wall people talk to—never continuing a conversation beyond the simple _hello_ and _how_ _are you?_ He doesn't give in. He's reserved.

But Rey doesn't know him sober. She only knows the unmasked man who kissed her like he meant it—and he _did._ She only knows the man who was bold enough to _tease_ her and _touch_ her and _act_ like he was her boyfriend. 

Ben feels obligated to tell her the truth. Sarcastically. "You'll be _relieved_ to hear that I'm not so welcoming when there's no alcohol in my system."

"Hadn't noticed. You're just _so_ charming," Rey responds with just as much wit, and for a second Ben feels a smile taking shape on his face, but he quickly holds himself together.

"You shouldn't be near me." Rey gives him a quizzical look. "Coronavirus."

"Ah. Well technically, if I'm six feet away from you it's fine." And suddenly Rey shifts toward the middle of the road.

"So you don't mind getting hit by a car if it means you get to keep _annoying_ me?" Ben huffs, still keeping his pace even.

Annoying... isn't the right word. He doesn't know _what_ he's feeling, exactly.

Ben's still worrying about his parents staying for who knows _how_ long, and now with Rey here... his heart is having a field day, but his mind is being dragged through fire. He's _trying,_ focusing all his power on numbing his feelings. He doesn't want to pay attention—he's never had to before, but now it's different. Ben literally _kissed_ this woman. There was a certain boundary that had been crossed, fake relationship or not, and he's _drawn_ to her. He'd be lying to himself if he said he hadn't thought about Rey since that night. Ben thought about her more than he expected to in the small space of a week. How she laughed, how she almost messed up their secret, how her lips felt against his. He'd be lying if he said he didn't entertain the idea of running into her again, what he would do or say, and... and in all honesty, he thought the chances of finding her were nonexistent. He threw away any hope of seeing her because he didn't even give her a way to contact him, and with a virus that encourages _distancing,_ well... what could he expect?

Ben's had bad luck all his life. Rey living in the same neighborhood as him could be bad or _good_. He can't know for sure. Not when he doesn't know what's going on inside her head, or how he's too aware of himself around her since he isn't drunk. It's perplexing that she seems... _willing_ to talk to him—even after he just tried pushing her away, almost as if she's _interested_ in him—

"Ben." Rey's voice pulls him out of his thoughts, and he notices she's slowing down. He doesn't think twice about slowing down _with_ her, and he almost hates it, that he wants to stay with her. She stops and walks toward him onto the side of the road, completely forgetting about the six-feet-apart rule. Ben doesn't mind. "Do you know those people?"

Just before he can read her features, Ben hears a whistle, snapping his head toward the source of it, and—

 _Fuck_.

Why didn't he notice they were approaching his house? Why didn't he notice the additional car in the driveway? Why didn't he take into account that there's a beautiful woman next to him and his mom is definitely going to think—

"Ben!" Leia yells, but she doesn't need to. Ben and Rey are _ironically_ about six feet away from his home. "You didn't tell us we were meeting someone!"

Ben's frozen. Completely immobile, unmoving, and he wants to disappear. 

Rey, however, is _not_ frozen to the spot where she stands. In fact, she is a functioning human being who _walks toward Ben's mother with the widest grin on her face,_ and Ben is going to _lose it_ if she's about to do what he thinks she's doing.

"Hi, I'm Rey." 

Just like that, Rey's talking to Ben's _mother_.

Han hasn't said a word yet, but he looks at Ben like he _knows._ He knows his son wants to wake up as if this is some absolute nightmare beginning to take shape, and he'll be bugging him about it until the end of time.

"It's not often we ever meet someone Ben is friends with," Leia says. "I'm Leia—Ben's mom." She looks at her husband. "And this is Han, Ben's dad. If you talk to him now, he won't stop."

Ben let's out a sigh of relief. _Friends_. His mom thinks Rey's just his friend. Ben's shoulders relax as he walks to his parents, finally able to move, and stands next to Rey. He's thankful for once that his mother didn't assume—

"Actually," Rey says, her smile growing in size, "I'm Ben's girlfriend. It's _so_ nice to finally meet you!"

_What?_

"Oh, well this is better than I expected!" Leia's eyes are bright with... _hope?_ "Ben, why didn't you tell us?"

Ben almost doesn't hear the question because alarms are going off in his head.

"Because I..." Ben drifts off as Rey turns to face him. There's a spark in her eyes, a hidden message being communicated.

_You tried ignoring her, and now she's getting revenge._

Ben's suddenly taken back to the backseat of the car, the streetlights gliding over her face as she looked out the window. He thinks of how she had kissed him moments before, catching him by surprise, and how he so intent on not having her get away with it.

Rey doesn't annoy Ben, but _challenges_ him. It's a game.

Ben is both excited and afraid. Maybe that's all this really is to her—a _game_. He mulls over the idea, but he stops himself before he feels any trace of disappointment. That's how it _should_ be. It couldn't be possible that this girl he met a week ago had some ulterior motive for fake-dating him. There's no evidence pointing toward the possibility that she truly wants something _more_ than that. He tries to think of it as merely a fact, but his emotions question it. He ignores the ache that threatens his chest and instead focuses on the positive.

His parents are here, and it wouldn't be so terrible to have something to distract him from the possibility of ruining his relationship with them again.

Having Rey around as his girlfriend might just be... perfect.

_Challenge accepted._

"I didn't say anything because I wanted it to be a surprise." And it's almost like they're back to the night they first met, like he's drunk. Ben's hand finds Rey's and gently intertwines their fingers. 

Leia breaks out into a grin, and a part of Ben feels... bad. He feels bad that suddenly he's lying about being in a relationship with this woman he barely knows, but Rey technically initiated it. Still, he decided to go along with it. He made his choice, and he's afraid of what it's mostly motivated by.

He has to hide his _very real_ growing interest toward Rey or else this situation only spells disaster in the end.

🧻🧻🧻

_He's going along with it. He's actually going along with it._

Rey still can't believe she's with him right now, holding his hand in front of his parents. She thought she'd never see him again after that night, and, oh, how she wanted to. She really, really wanted to see him, and now he's here and she has no idea what she's doing.

She just lied to his mother about being his girlfriend, but the word slipped out so _easily_. Without thinking. She just couldn't stop thinking of Ben and how he looked when he spun around to see her, wearing all black again, his hair pushed back from running. Everything was wild and dark, yet _illuminated_ by the sun and...

Well he was _rude,_ but she could admit yanking out his headphones wasn't exactly a nice start to their interaction.

Still, even with sarcasm dripping from his lips, she's _drawn_ to him. To his sharp yet warm eyes, to the beauty marks on his face, to the lines of his mouth when he seemed to hold back a smile. She wonders if he felt something, too, back in the car. There was an odd atmosphere in the air, like they were pretending to be dating and yet it wasn't _difficult_ to pretend. Rey doesn't mind being so close to Ben, but does he?

Does he _not_ feel the electric current running through his body as they stand with their hands joined, acting _once again_ like they've done this for years?

Rey bites her lip nervously. Suddenly, she realizes this is probably a mistake, and makes a desperate attempt to excuse herself. 

"As I said, it was nice finally meeting you, but I should get back home now," she says, sounding as polite as possible. She notices Ben stiffen from the corner of her eye. Something's up with him, but she doesn't want to ponder on it. He probably wants her to leave and stop messing with his life. 

Plus, if Rey leaves now she won't have to deal with Ben leaving _her_.

_I'm always better off alone._

Ben's hand tightens, squeezing her own as if he can sense her sudden change in mood. "Well, you _do_ have to pack your things since you're also staying with us."

Rey's caught off guard. 

Leia nods her head, looking at Rey with open eyes. "How far away do you live? maybe we can give you a ride—"

"She lives a couple of houses down. We were jogging together anyway, so I'll go with her."

And so that's... that. Ben gives his house key to his dad—Han—and then his parents are lunging their bags through the front door. All the while, Ben's hand is still locked on Rey's and he notices it just as she does. He pulls away quickly as if she's hot to the touch, or just downright _repulsive_ to him.

_Stop. He doesn't hate you._

Rey's not so sure why she's suddenly feeling so small. It's like when she was drunk she was bolder, more sure of herself even though she was less aware. She wouldn't even _think_ of the possibility that Ben couldn't be attracted to her. When he kissed her just before he left, when he asked if he could see her again... there was something _honest_ there, and yet she is still so afraid of being wrong about all of this.

She quickly casts aside her fear so she can look up at Ben, and he's looking at her with an expression she can't decipher. 

"Shall we?"

🧻🧻🧻

It turns out Rey only lives two houses down from Ben, and he's shocked they went a whole week without crossing paths again (the coronavirus isn't promising a lot of socializing, though). He's shocked that he didn't _meet_ her here and that he met her outside of Maz's instead.

And isn't it risky for Rey to now be staying with him and his parents? He knows the chances of either of them being infected with the virus are very small, but... still. The right thing would be to end this lie right now. Ben would show back up to his house without Rey, and he would explain the whole situation to his parents while he washes his hands for the hundredth time, and everything would go back to normal.

This would be the right thing to do, and yet Ben is now waiting for Rey to pack her things, standing by her front door and kicking a random rock on her porch. He's going through with it, and so is she.

Not much happens on the walk back to his house. Ben guesses it's nerves. They're both nervous. He's sure of that because Rey's chewed on her bottom lip to the point he has to tell her to stop before she breaks skin. Whatever confidence she adopted earlier had dissipated by now. 

As they reach the front door, Ben realizes he has no key and knocks. They wait, and for a moment he looks at her. 

She's already staring back at him.

"Ben." She sounds... soft. Scared. _Guilty_. He can tell she regrets lying, but he won't have her feel bad. He can't stand seeing her mouth form a frown, her eyes nervously looking at his.

It's vulnerable. A short moment where they're not acting at all.

Ben grabs her hand.

"It's okay," he says gently. His eyes don't leave hers.

The door opens, the moment is gone, and as Han lets them in, Ben realizes something he forgot to think through.

Him and Rey will have to share a bed tonight... and all the nights after that.


End file.
